Florida House subcommittee approves fracking disclosure bill

Environmental demonstrators protest California Gov. Jerry Brown's position on natural gas fracking before Brown arrived for a press conference to sign an agreement with China's National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua to boost bilateral cooperation on climate change during a news conference at the Bay Area Council, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013, in San Francisco, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

Rep. Ray Rodrigues

NAPLES - A bill aimed at hydraulic fracturing disclosure requirements has passed its first hurdle of the 2014 legislative session.

The state House Agriculture and Natural Resources subcommittee approved House Bill 71, which would require the state to put disclosure requirements in place before the start of hydraulic fracturing, a type of oil and gas drilling known as fracking.

A companion bill, House Bill 157, which allows oil and gas industry trade secrets to be exempt from the state's public records law, also passed the committee.

Both bills are sponsored by Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero.

On Tuesday, Rodrigues said he's pleased to have cleared the first hurdle and looks forward to future discussions on the bill.

"If we choose to do nothing, we face a future where we could potentially have hydraulic fracturing in Florida and not know what is being put into the ground," Rodrigues said Tuesday. "That is the choice before you today."

This is the second time Rodrigues has filed the disclosure legislation. The bill passed the state House 92-19 in 2013, but failed to progress in the Senate. The companion bill never received a vote of the full House.

While the bill in 2013 received unanimous support of the agriculture and natural resources subcommittee, this year the bills passed in an 8-4 party line vote.

"I think water is going to be the next oil, and if we don't protect our water we're all doomed," said Rep. Larry Lee, D-Port St. Lucie, who voted against it. "I think the attempt to have disclosure made public is a good attempt, however I think there are too many loopholes."

Rodrigues said his bill sets up a system for disclosure, which would allow Floridians to know what is being put into the ground during the process.

"Hydraulic fracturing is permitted, but there is no disclosure," Rodrigues said. "Do you prefer the status quo or do you prefer to know what chemicals are put in the ground? This is a disclosure bill. Not a fracking bill."

According to state records, a companion bill has yet to be filed in the state Senate.

__The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

POSTED EARLIER

Legislation that would require the state to put disclosure requirements in place before hydraulic fracturing, a type of oil and gas drilling commonly known as fracking, is one step closer to the state House floor.

The state House Agriculture and Natural Resources subcommittee on Tuesday approved House Bill 71, the Fracturing Chemical Usage Disclosure Act. The proposal is sponsored by Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero.

This is the second time Rodrigues has filed legislation aimed at making sure disclosure requirements are in place. The bill passed the state House 92-19 in 2013, but failed to progress in the Senate. A companion bill that allowed trade secrets to be exempt from the state's public records law never received a vote.

Rodrigues once again filed the legislation allowing for public records exemptions. While that bill also won approval at the House subcommittee meeting Tuesday, some House members and members of the public said they are concerned by the exemption.